Commercial job

[cass]

I have pound streacher retail outlet to price on thurs night havent seen job yet but am told it is shop floor.The thing is not my neck of the woods have never done any thing of that scale before.I am confident enough to take job on and no of other tilers that could help me if it is to much for me to do in whatever timescale.The thing is i have read things on forum such expantion joints every 5 m and certain types of trim basicly i'm not familiar with thes kind of materialsand dont want to make a fool of my self when i go to price job,is ther any advise on what i should be looking out for when i go to price or what materials i should be using cheers Cass.

 

[Gazzer]

Firstly get some prices for suitable adhesives, grouts and either a preformed expansion joint.
Find out if the store will be open and if they require you to work nights.

Find out your time scale and then work out if you can do it on time.
Dont forget that you will probably be surrounded by other trades so make sure you have plenty of warning tape to put around the areas you are working in.

 

[garyc4507]

hi cass go for a single part flex addy if you need a hand give us a shout my kind of work nights no prob good luck gary c

 

[cass]

I am not asking about actual pricing just materials and any and any advice you could give to me on my first commercial job.I have passed the place before and no it's not a big outlet so could be right for my first commercial.

 

[derekg]

Hi cass
I do this type of work all the time they will want it done yesterday(they always do) and as sir ramic says there will probably be loads of other trades working where u want to.

Take your time working out your price make sure you know everything they want,expansion joints should be used when a floor is over a certain size or over joints in the screed which are movement joints in the building,BUT i have had clients that insist that you do not put joints in because they dont like them.

 

[Paul the tiler]

Sorry to put a downer on here, but, Check out the builder, how did they find you, what are the time scales, what are the penalties/ defect liabilty periods/ payment terms, the list can go on.
Method statements, CSCS requirements.
That said its no rocket science, my first port of call would be a look at the program, see where my slot was and speak to the guys on site and see how the program is going in practice, you never know you may get acceleration costs if your slot gets trimmed.
Hope it helps.
Paul

Best of British

 

[Paul the tiler]

Sorry Cass forgot to say.
remember you are the pro tiler here, let them know that and stick to your guns, no trafic on the floor until you are happy it can take it. If you dont you will have them rolling wheel barrows over your hands as you are trying to lay the tiles, Its happened to me in the early days, now where did I put that wireless,,,........

 

[White Room]

Are you going to see a proffesional or the guy that owns the shop

 

[cass]

So far all i know is i have to go and see the shop manager it doesnt sound like the shop is shut yet, will find out thurs night will tell you more when i get more info.Thanks for advise so far but looks like i could yous some more.

 

[marbleman]

cass
the down side of commercial work is you need to work normally on a shorter programme than they give you,
Make sure you find out payment terms and find out information on the main subcontractor seen so many one man bands get it to trouble with this type of work.
If you work out of hours you need to know if there are noise restriction, and at what time you have to be off site thats the norm for night work,
many things can go wrong if there programme sucks, as they normal will hold you to the time scale, even if other trades get in your way.
paul the tiler has given you good advice

 

[merlecollins]

The most important practical thing here is to find out the substrate you are fixing to - most of the time with these shops you will be fixing after old vinyl has been lifted - make sure all the vinyl glue residues are removed or alternatively you can use certain levellers over the top to 'kill' the glue before fixing tiles.

 

[Peter]

Spent a few years doing almost soley commercial work, it's straight forward enough as long as you keep your wits about you. 9 times out of 10 you'll be working round other trades and people wanting on top of you. Depends on who's needing where to dictate where you can start. The most common way of doing a big floor is to set it out to the centre, lay an expansion the whole length of the floor and run a full lengh strech on either side of the expansion, making sure you've got expansion bays every 30-50 metres depending on the floor. After that it's just a case of working either sides. You'll need someone there grouting the previous day's work every day as there'll be people needing on top of your tiles. Also beware of penaltys and clauses. Don't think it would be possible to do a big floor as a one man outfit. Best way to work it is having a full squad. Two buckets being constantly mixed by a monkey, another monkey to brush stretches and lay a box of tiles out over every metre, someone spreading infront of you and then the spreader/monkey can drop back and wash if he's ahead. The only way to make money at a big floor properly is to be laying 70+ metres a day. That could be managed with 2 tilers and a labourer if you've got a good system going.

 

[hillhead]

On a commercial last year i had 56 m2 of pilkingtons 8" square non slip tiles with a single tiles skirting to go on too. I had one day to do it all.a function on same floor following day.talk about pressure.1.30 am i got out of it.bloody tiles gripped the grout like nothing normal.fun job though.